Free Republic

Widespread reports of chlorine gas attacks in Syria have not been prevented - or acted upon - because chlorine is not "historically" considered a chemical weapon, US President Barack Obama stated Thursday. Obama was forced to answer the chlorine question during a press conference from a summit at Camp David with leaders of the Gulf states. Syria and Iran were key issues at the conference.

President Obama’s Camp David summit with the Gulf Arab states on Thursday will seek to boost arms sales to the Gulf neighbors but the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been taken off their wish list. White House officials on Monday sought to tamp down speculation that King Salman of Saudi Arabia canceled his attendance at Camp David when the U.S. made clear that his country would not be permitted to buy F-35s. “We do not and never anticipated this to be a summit that only focused on one capability, like the F-35, for instance,” said Ben Rhodes, the deputy National...

President Barack Obama on Thursday said that leaders of Gulf allies at a summit have agreed that a comprehensive, verifiable deal that blocks Iran's pathway to a nuclear weapon would serve everyone's interests, reports The Associated Press (AP). .....

he New York Times reported late Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and other small Arab states were expected to make the case to Obama that they should be allowed to enrich whatever amount of nuclear material Iran is permitted to under the terms of a permanent deal that is due to be agreed on by the end of June. "We can’t sit back and be nowhere as Iran is allowed to retain much of its capability and amass its research," one Arab leader due to meet with Obama told The Times Monday. The paper also reported that Prince Turki bin Faisal,...

President Barack Obama pledged America’s “ironclad commitment” to anxious Persian Gulf nations Thursday to help protect their security, pointedly mentioning the potential use of military force and offering assurances that a potential nuclear agreement with Iran would not leave them more vulnerable. At the close of a rare summit at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Obama said the U.S. would join the Gulf Cooperation Council nations “to deter and confront an external threat to any GCC state’s territorial integrity.” The U.S. pledged to bolster its security cooperation with the Gulf on counterterrorism, maritime security, cybersecurity and ballistic missile defense....

The Obama administration is likely to fall far short of the lofty goals it set for itself at Thursday’s summit with Gulf leaders, several experts on the region said. While the White House has framed the seven-nation meeting as an opportunity to deepen and strengthen Gulf nations’ security relationship with the United States in light of a possible nuclear deal with Iran, the six foreign leaders attending have set out bargaining chips that the administration has already shot down, and it’s not exactly clear what else, besides those tangible items, either side wants. “Something that actually offers a couple of...

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said today that if King Salman changing his mind against coming to Washington this week was supposed to send a message to the administration, “that message was not received.” Earnest insisted that “all the feedback that we’ve received from the Saudis has been positive.” The Saudi king, who was supposed to meet one-on-one with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday before a broader meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, initially RSVP’d “yes.” On Friday, he changed that to a “no.” Of the GCC states invited — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,

Hey Barack? Yes, Your Royal Majesty. Look, know what I said about coming to that thing at your place? Of course, oh Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Not going to make it--turns out I have to rearrange my stallion's sock drawer. On today's Morning Joe, Andrea Mitchell acknowledged the undeniable: that the last-minute decision by Saudi King Salman not to attend the White House summit, after previously having informed John Kerry that he would be there, was such an "in your face" snub, so embarrassing to Kerry and the Obama White House, that "I don't see any way that...

The U.S. is seeking a rapprochement with Iran over its nuclear program, potentially ending several decades of hostility. But while the U.S. is extending an open hand to Iran, other countries in the Middle East are casting a wary eye towards the negotiations. In fact, it is starting to appear that Gulf Arab states could be a major impediment to a final agreement over Iran’s nuclear program. Led by Saudi Arabia, many of the oil-producing members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are skeptical of, if not downright hostile towards Iran. With little trust between Iran and its Arab neighbors,...

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister insisted on Monday that King Salman's last minute decision not to attend a Camp David summit was not intended as a snub to the United States, AFP reported. The White House, meanwhile, said that the king spoke with President Barack Obama and "expressed his regret" for missing the summit. "This is not related in any way, shape or form to any disagreement between the two countries," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters at Saudi Arabia's embassy Washington, according to AFP. On Sunday, Jubeir announced that King Salman would skip the May 14 summit of Persian Gulf...

The White House was scrambling Monday to put a positive face on an upcoming summit of Persian Gulf states after learning leaders from four of the six invited nations are expected to skip. While those nations are still sending representatives to the summit being hosted by President Obama later this week at Camp David, the absence of crucial heads of state -- notably, Saudi Arabia's new king -- could present an awkward situation for the administration. But State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf rejected the notion this was a "snub," and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest likewise said the administration...

The Obama administration insisted Monday that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman isn’t snubbing President Barack Obama with his decision not to attend a Camp David meeting this week, despite widespread speculation that his absence seems to be a rebuke to Obama’s effort to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Obama had invited King Salman to meet at the White House and Camp David on May 13 and 14, and the White House had indicated that the two would meet in private before a meeting of other Gulf Cooperation Council states. On Sunday, however, Saudi Arabia said it would instead send the...

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will skip a May 14 summit of Persian Gulf leaders with President Barack Obama, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. At the summit Obama is expected to offer the Gulf leaders reassurances over the efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. The decision marks a diplomatic snub from one of the top leaders in the region, and follows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital last week, noted the report. […] Arab governments have been expressing their concern about the terms of a potential nuclear deal with Iran. The major...

Four rulers of a six-member alliance of Persian Gulf states will likely be absent from a summit hosted by President Obama this week at Camp David. In a statement Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Thursday's summit coincides with a humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Shiite rebels known as Houthis. He said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defense minister, will also attend. Obama had planned to meet Salman one-on-one a day before...